The starch
of life
DRYING SEED CORN is
rushed to cover as the reg
ular afternoon drizzle moves
up from Amazonian jungle
to shadow the highland vil
lage of Queros. Villagers boil
cornmeal and let it ferment
into chicha-a drink that,
since olden times, has made
tolerable the rigorous An
dean climate.
On the Inca trail to Que
ros, a boy and his father
(right), who wears an Inca
like tunic, stomp on potatoes
to squeeze out moisture in
the course of making chuno,
or dehydrated potato-an
Andean staple. Alternately
frozen and thawed, the
potatoes yield their liquid
at a slight squeeze (below).
The potato originated in the
Andean countries, where it
is still called papa, as in
Inca times.
The Lost Empire of the Incas
759